POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River volleyball team dropped its first match of the 2024 season Saturday afternoon, falling to Coastal Alabama – North 3-0 (20-25, 26-28, 20-25). The loss snapped a 10-match winning streak for the Wildcats against the Coyotes.
"We have to find leadership within this team," head coach Haley Chatham said. "Servant leadership starts in the dorms, in the cafeteria, on the bus, to and from class and before and after practice. It starts in the quieter moments; it builds, then it transfers to bigger moments in matches.
"We can get everything we want by giving full of ourselves to help everyone else get what they want. It can change everything. The opportunity to bounce back is here; we just have to reach out and take it."
Pearl River (1-1 overall) looked to be in control early in the first set of the day. PRCC retook the lead at 5-4 when Avery Wheat (Gonzales, La.; East Ascension) tucked a ball just in front of the back line for a point. A few seconds later, a ball bounced high off the hands of a libero and into the air where Madi King (Leakesville, Miss.; Greene County) slammed it back down for the point. Allie Varner (Madison; Germantown) joined in on the fun by placing an ace in the back left corner of the court, 8-5.
The Coyotes (2-0) embarked on an impressive run following, rattling off eight consecutive points to pull ahead 13-8. PRCC attempted to climb back into the set, using the solid play of Wheat to cut the deficit to 18-15. CAN responded and put away the set, 25-20.
The battle between the teams continued in the second set as they were locked in a 9-9 tie early on. Annalaura Williford (Bay St. Louis; Our Lady Academy) snatched the lead right back for the Wildcats, smashing a ball off a defender's hands and down, 10-9. With a lot of back-and-forth between, PRCC eventually found itself in a good position, leading 21-18 following a Campbel Bailey (Elberta, Ala.; St. Michael's) kill. The point forced a CAN timeout.
The Coyotes came out of the timeout with a new plan and used it to propel themselves to a 28-26 victory.
Pearl River was again competitive in the third set of the day, leading by as much as 11-7 following a ball that was sent flying out of bounds by the serving Coyote player. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, Coastal Alabama – North caught fire, going on a 10-point run that put the Coyotes ahead 17-11. PRCC tried to climb back into things, getting kills from Williford and Allie Richardson (Fruitdale, Ala.) as well as a Morgan Mears (Hurley; East Central) block, but CAN put the set and match to rest with a 25-20 victory.
UP NEXT
Pearl River heads to Pensacola, Fla. on Friday for a pair of matches as part of the Pensacola State Invitational. The Wildcats face off against Calhoun at 11 a.m. and Pensacola State at 7 p.m.
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